Data Centers Meet Fierce Backlash From Voters as Dozens of Towns Reject New Projects

Data centers appeared on the ballot in 41 communities across 12 states this week, and in nearly every case, voters resoundingly voted to restrict or ban them, a sign that backlash continues to grow against the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence. 

Of the 41 ballot initiatives, only Harwood, ND, passed a pro-data center ordinance. Voters there rejected a ballot initiative that would have required the city to create an independent review paid for by the developer to evaluate the impact of data centers in the community. 

In Ohio, which has seemingly become an epicenter of the data center debate, 18 counties put data centers on the ballot. Many measures did not outright ban data centers, but set limits on noise pollution, water and energy use, and other environmental concerns. 

Tech companies have poured millions into expanding Ohio's already substantial number of data centers. AI and crypto political action committees spent an estimated $65 million to influence the Ohio midterms, backing Republican Senator John Husted, who lost re-election to Democrat Sherrod Brown on Tuesday. 

Both Hubbard, OH and Urbana, OH, passed outright bans on data centers, while other communities passed initiatives that would greatly limit or restrict data center growth based on size and energy usage.

Hubbard resident Jenny Goldberg organized against the data centers in her community. 

“We now have the power to say no,” she told WFMJ. “Let's put the brakes on. Let's wait to see if you know if environmental changes, if technology changes, make something like this possible in the future. Then we can reconsider it.”  

In Ashville, OH, more than 80% of voters supported a measure intended to overturn a municipal agreement allowing developer EdgeConneX to construct a pair of facilities locally. The ballot measure will not halt construction on the projects, but proponents hope it will send a message to the state’s power board to reject EdgeConneX’s request for a power plant. 

Elsewhere in the state, voters rejected measures intended to rezone land for data center use. 

Next November, Ohio voters will weigh in on the Ohio Prohibition of Data Center Construction Amendment, which would prohibit data centers that exceed 25 megawatts of monthly demand across the state. 

Similar outright bans passed in North Berwick, ME; Americus, KS; Alhambra, CA; Edgewater, FL; and Canterbury, NH. 

In Maine, eight counties voted to support initiatives that would ban or place moratoriums on data center construction, and in Illinois, seven ballot measures restricting data centers passed. 

Proponents of data centers tout them as economic boons for communities, but the Brookings Institution says that boon is often overstated.

Brookings studied the impact of data centers on employment and found that certain sectors do benefit, though the economic impact is often overstated. 

Wages tend to remain stagnant compared with the impact of data centers on housing prices, which have historically received a bump of between 2% and 5% where data centers are built.